& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Tata places 5-point ‘wish list’ in EoI

M SHAMSUR RAHMAN
India's Tata Group on Wednesday in its expression of interest (EoI) put forward a five-point ‘wish list’ seeking different assurances and incentives from the government to implement its US$2 billion investment plans in Bangladesh.
Highly placed sources said in the EoI, the Indian industrial heavyweight sought favourable condition for the speedy implementation of the projects, good pieces of land, smooth supply of gas for 20 years, competitive price of gas and similar incentives given by the Bangladesh government to other export oriented industries.
The much hyped investment proposal -- the single largest in
Bangladesh -- in power, steel and fertiliser sectors has created a ripple in the country's flagging investment scenario.
The World Bank had already committed $2 million for a study on the investment proposal and preparation of terms and conditions by a technical committee of Petrobangla.
With the EoI signed, Tata Group, India's second largest conglomerate, now plans to send a mission next week for conducting a feasibility study.
After the study the Tata bosses will sit with the Bangladesh government to work out the pricing of gas, which experts say will be the key issue in implementing the gigantic investment proposal.
In the signing ceremony, Finance
and Planning Minister M Saifur Rahman said smooth supply of gas for 20 years as sought by Tata will not be problem as similar commitment was made to French cement company Lafarge.
On pricing of gas, he said the decision should be taken based on interest of the country .
The deal sets the ground for hectic discussions on Tata's intent in setting up a 1000 MW power station in two phases, a steel mill with an annual capacity of 4.2 lakh tons, also in two phases, and a million-ton capacity fertilizer factory.
The Tata chairman said, ''We can help each other in a complimentary manner. It is not by exploiting Bangladeshi resources."
"What we like to do in
Bangladesh is an extension of our businesses,'' Tata hoped after signing of the EoI.
''We want to play an important role in the development of the country,'' he said.
"People of Bangladesh will see prosperity following the investment to be made," he added.
The proposed projects will consume 200 mmcfd gas as raw material in the first phase of operations. When the entire Tata projects start operations, they will require about a third of the daily production of Bibiyana gas field, which will run at full capacity of 600 mmcfd by 2008.
A sophisticated 450 MW gas-fired power plant consumes some 62 mmcfd of the fossil fuel.